The Liberation of Theresa Rourke
by Nate Grey
Summary: Most kids at Xavier's have some issues. Theresa Rourke has three huge ones: Black Tom, Juggernaut, and Deadpool. They all want her, and it's not a question of whether one will get their hands on her, but who will manage it first.
1. Prologue: Domino's Rejects

Notes: I had the idea for this story a long time ago. I started working on it. I got busy with other things and eventually lost all the work I did on the story. The idea wouldn't go away, though. The setting for this is, rather firmly, after the first movie, taking no other films into account. Which means you should probably ignore Juggernaut's appearance in X3, Deadpool's in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and Emma Frost's in X-Men: First Class. Mostly because those actors don't really bring to life the Jughead and Poolboy I came up with. Not their fault, of course. Movies rarely live up to comics.

Summary: Most kids at Xavier's have some issues. Theresa Rourke has three huge ones: Black Tom, Juggernaut, and Deadpool. They all want her, and it's not a question of whether one will get their hands on her, but who will manage it first.

* * *

**The Liberation of Theresa Rourke**

**An X-Men Movie-verse Fanfic by**

**Nate Grey (xman0123-at-aol-dot-com)**

* * *

**Prologue: Domino's Rejects**

* * *

Seated on the front steps of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, a young girl named Marie calmly watched the setting sun as she considered the current state of her life.

There were two sides to everything. She was starting to learn that very quickly.

Take herself, for example. On one hand, she was Marie, a fairly attractive Southern girl. On the other hand, she was also Rogue, a mutant with the ability to absorb the memories and personalities of anyone who touched her bare skin long enough. In the case of other mutants, she also absorbed their powers. There were plenty of bad things about this, though: Marie's victims, depending on how long they touched her, either collapsed, passed out, and in the worst cases to date, fell into a coma. Marie had it nearly as bad: each additional person she touched became a new persona swimming around in the back of her mind. She'd had enough trouble convincing herself that she wasn't crazy back when she'd been relatively normal, but now she had inner voices arguing with each other and herself at random intervals, and some of them were quite forceful.

The school she currently attended was another example. Xavier's was, on the surface, a private institution known for providing a great number of free scholarships to deserving students. Beneath the surface, these deserving students were all mutants, like her. Some had families and homes, but many simply had no place else to go. Whatever their circumstances, at Xavier's they could hopefully learn to control their powers, so as not to be a danger to themselves or anyone else.

But even at Xavier's, there were generally two types of students. There were "norms", like Marie, who simply wanted enough control over their abilities so that they could still fit in with other people. Then there were the others, who showed no interest in fitting in, and instead desired to become the best mutants they possibly could, for various reasons. The staff, of course, was supposed to teach the virtues of the former attitude, rather than the latter. But how strongly each teacher subscribed to that theory varied from person to person, with some teaching the exact opposite every chance they got.

The woman called Domino was one of those.

At first, Marie had simply thought that Domino, clearly named so for the large, black birthmark (at least, Marie assumed it was natural) that surrounded her left eye, was so militant because she had been mistreated. But after being around the woman for a few months, Marie had revised that opinion: Domino was militant because it suited her, and because she was so very good at it. All things considered, it was probably the main reason Professor Xavier allowed her to stay. Shortly after Domino's arrival, the school's security systems had been completely overhauled at her suggestion. All students and teachers had to have retinal scans on file, and any shape-shifters had to submit to some additional security measure that Marie hadn't heard the details of. Marie thought it was all a little excessive at first, but once she heard the horror story of how someone had impersonated Domino for the better part of a decade, she had stopped complaining. She already knew one evil shape-shifter, and she was in no hurry to see that one again, or meet any other.

Domino was pretty intimidating when she wanted to be, but plenty of the students actually liked her. Not surprisingly, these were typically the same students who either couldn't or didn't want to fit in with humans. In some cases, like that of Maria, this was understandable: the poor girl looked and acted more like a feral cat than a human. Marie had kept her distance out of necessity, as she had enough animal-like people jostling for attention in her head already. That was why people like the Guthrie siblings made no sense to her. Sam and Paige were blond, blue-eyed, and despite their best efforts, had Southern drawls thicker than molasses. Marie liked them a lot, but she simply could not understand why they were so obsessed with mastering their powers.

Those three had all been lumped into the group known among most students as "Domino's Rejects". Domino was responsible for them, and they all seemed to prefer it that way. Marie privately felt the label was a little unfair. Partially because she often felt like a reject, yet wasn't included in the group. But the reason for that was obvious to everyone: Marie belonged to Logan. No one ever said as much, but Logan got a lot less tolerable when anyone else made decisions concerning her without consulting him, and he was perfectly willing to be her human shield anytime someone tried to force her into something she'd rather not do. And it wasn't so much that Logan hated Domino, as it was that he tended to growl a lot more when she was in the room. He complained that she always smelled like gun oil. Marie had never seen Domino with a gun, and said as much. Logan claimed she wasn't looking in the right places, and he was the one with the hypersensitive nose, so he probably knew better than her.

This was not to say that Marie was excluded because of her power, though. Far from it. She had plenty of friends, more than she'd ever had before coming to Xavier's, in fact. She had to wear long opera gloves and baggy coats around them most of the time, because some of them were younger and liked to hug without warning, but other than that it was fine. Still, she was aware that she was very lucky. When she'd first arrived, most students had been warned away, just to be on the safe side. But once everyone was made aware of Marie's special circumstances, and she had proven to be approachable despite them, they had mostly relaxed. There were still some people who preferred to keep at least a few inches of space between them when talking to Marie, and she understood this. Actually, she was rather used to it, and even preferred it in some cases. It was nice that everyone wasn't afraid of her anymore, but she never wanted to get to the point where she simply forgot the dangers involved. If she were ever to hurt one of the little kids like Illyana, she'd never forgive herself. And that had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Illyana's big brother could practically turn his whole body into a ton of steel.

Some people, however, insisted on letting Marie know that they were comfortable being close to her. Mostly it was one boy in particular, like Bobby. Or one girl in particular. Like Dani.

Dani had been born Danielle Moonstar, but would allow only a select few adults to actually call her Danielle. To everyone else she was "Dani" unless they wanted to end up on her bad side. If the rumors were true, Dani had requested to be roommates when Marie first arrived at Xavier's, but had been turned down. Of course, if rumors were true, then Dani had also gone through no less than four roommates her first month at the school, and had been without one ever since. Dani didn't like to talk about it, but Marie felt certain this had something to do with Dani's mutant power, whatever it was. Dani would only say that she was a telepath, though not quite like Dr. Jean Grey or Professor Xavier.

When they first met, Dani had insisted on shaking hands. This was not really a big deal. But as time went on, Dani had insisted on holding Marie's hand, or putting an arm around her waist, or even leaning against her for a few moments. Marie suspected that all Dani really wanted was to show her and everyone else that they didn't have to be afraid of touching Marie, just careful about it. While this was appreciated, Marie could not help feeling that Dani had still become a bit too familiar with her, especially considering that Marie had never really given Dani permission to touch her. But between Marie being terribly self-conscious about her power, and Dani's natural pushiness, the topic had simply never come up. And by now, physical contact had become so much a part of their relationship (Marie hesitated to call them friends, for fear that it would inspire Dani to touch her even more frequently) that things would be awkward if she tried to put a stop to it.

Despite all of the touching, Marie did actually enjoy Dani's company. She talked a little too much, but she was a good listener. Aside from that, she was one of the few female students that made Logan uncomfortable without becoming giggly and staring at his butt, the way Jubilee and Kitty did. Marie wasn't sure why this was: as far as telepaths went, Logan tolerated Professor Xavier and clearly liked Dr. Grey, and Dani was nowhere near as powerful as either of them.

Marie's alone time was interrupted, rather predictably, when Dani sat down beside her. Marie had left plenty of space on the steps in case someone needed to get by, and Dani could have done the same, leaving plenty of space between them. She didn't, of course, and instead sat so close that Marie was tempted to just slide off of the edge. But she was immediately stopped by the familiar arm draping itself around her waist.

"If you're going to hide from me," Dani said casually, "you should remember that I'm a telepath."

"I wasn't hiding," Marie protested. "Not from you, anyway. I know you have your outside sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and that you always leave from here. In fact, I thought I'd wait with you."

"Bobby being a jerk again?" Dani guessed, giving Marie her usual penetrating stare.

Marie blushed. "Not really. He just pinched my butt was all."

Dani smirked. "I assume it was covered at the time?"

"Dani!" Marie shrieked, turning redder. "Of course it was!"

"Well, you seem to be fine with it, so I assume no harm was done?"

"No, nothing like that. But Ms. Munroe saw him, so I had to at least act offended."

Dani shook her head. "I really don't know what you see in him, Marie."

"You just don't like him because he called you 'Moonpie' that one time."

"I don't like John because he called me that," Dani corrected. "I don't like Bobby because he snickered."

"He apologized right after."

"Only because I caught him."

Marie sighed. "Dani, please. I don't want to fight about this again."

"You're right, I'm sorry." Dani gave her a little squeeze. "It was nice of you to wait for me, and I do appreciate it."

"Do you think it'll be a problem?"

"I can't imagine why it would. All we're doing is sitting."

Almost on cue, the front gates opened to admit a long, white limousine.

"Are you sure I shouldn't run inside?" Marie asked. "I don't think she likes me much."

"You're being silly. She doesn't like anyone much, except me. But she'll tolerate you. Come and say hi."

Marie sighed and stood up with Dani as the limousine pulled up in front of the steps. Immediately, a very large man in a white chauffer uniform got out of the driver's seat and walked quickly to the other side of the car. Marie hesitated to come any closer: the man was among the largest she'd ever seen, and aside from that, his skin was entirely hairless and light green. But Dani tugged firmly on her hand, and Marie followed her resignedly. The green man opened the car's passenger door as they approached.

"Hi, Bumpkin," Dani said, giving his large, green hand an affectionate pat.

"Hey, kid," the man replied with a hint of warmth in his tone as Dani climbed into the car. This was replaced by uncertainty as he noticed Marie. "Hey, um... other kid?"

"Hi. I'm not going," Marie said quickly.

"Oh, really?" said another voice. "Such a shame. We'd love to have you, dear."

Marie blinked and looked into the car. Just beyond Dani, she could see a face. It was obviously female and enormously attractive, but smiling in a way that made Marie feel prickly all over. "Hello, Miss Frost. I was just leaving."

"Are you certain? This wasn't scheduled, but for Danielle's sake, I'd be willing to make arrangements. You're welcome to join her any time you wish."

"That's very generous of you, Miss Frost, but I really shouldn't. The teachers worry when the students aren't where they say they're going to be."

"Yes, I imagine they would be. Well, do keep it in mind, dear. You might also mention to Charles that there was a three second delay when Bumpkin used the intercom at the gate. It pays to be prompt, I always say."

Marie took a long look at the limousine. "If anyone would know, I'm sure it would be you, Miss Frost."

There was a laugh that did not seem entirely genuine, or at least non-hostile. "Oh, you darling. You simply must come with us next time. Do try and convince her in the future, Danielle."

"Yes, Miss Frost," Dani replied obediently, shooting Marie a pleading look that was promptly ignored.

"Well, I should get to class," Marie said, taking a step back. "Good luck with your lessons, Dani. Bye, Miss Frost. Bye, um... Miss Frost's driver."

The man shrugged as he closed the car door. "Been called worse, kid." He was back in the car far faster than any man his size had a right to be. Maybe it was an aspect of his mutant power. Maybe Miss Frost paid him to be that prompt. Or, more likely, he was just smart enough never to keep her waiting.

As the limousine pulled away, Marie turned around a let out a little scream: Logan was standing there, and obviously had been far longer than she realized. "Don't DO that!" she hissed, giving his arm a swat.

He didn't even have the decency to flinch. "Don't you go anywhere with her."

"I never planned to," Marie snapped, waiting for her heart to stop pounding. "I know she's Dani's legal guardian, but that lady gives me the creeps."

"Good. You remember that feeling every time you see her."

"It's hard to forget, frankly." What she didn't say was that the little part of Dr. Grey she had absorbed (with permission) tended to feel edgy around Emma Frost as well. And Dr. Grey was generally nice to everyone, so anyone she didn't like automatically set off warning flags in Marie's mind. "Wait, why don't you like Miss Frost, Logan?"

Logan snorted. "Take whatever reason you don't and multiply it by a thousand."

Marie took the hint and decided not to pursue the matter any further. "Did you come out here to make sure I don't skip gym class?"

"Did you come out here to make sure you did?" he countered.

She pouted up at him. "I was going! I just wanted to see Dani off is all."

"Sure. Can't help but notice that she's gone and you're still here, though."

"Jubilee's in my gym class, you know." It was quick and very hard to see, but she was certain that Logan had actually shuddered.

"Your point being?" he asked, clearly irritable now.

"I won't tell you're skipping gym class, if you don't tell I'm skipping gym class."

Logan stared at her thoughtfully.

Ten minutes later, Marie was on the back of Scott Summers' "borrowed" motorcycle, her face buried in Logan's leather jacket as they roared into town. Really, it was a wonder she ever made it to gym class at all.

* * *

**Next Chapter: A Friendly Mirage**

Dani finally gets a roommate, though not the one she's been hoping for. The new girl is just as tight-lipped about her abilities as Dani is, and for good reason. Meanwhile, a kidnapping plot is put into motion, or at least paid for in a seedy diner.

* * *

**Endnotes:**

On an unrelated note, I'm trying to track down two stories that were once housed in the Wolverine and Jubilee fanfiction archive. The two I'm seeking both feature Jubilee, but I've had no luck finding them. If you know the titles, authors, or where they can be found, please give me a shout, preferably by private message, or in a review if you have to. Though, if you're going to do it in a review, it would be appreciated if you could also actually review my story... Anyway, the stories I'm searching for:

1) Jubilee somehow ends up working with Deadpool. Possibly he kidnapped her. At any rate, they go to a school dance, and Deadpool is wearing a dinosaur costume (Barney, maybe?). And I'm pretty sure his target is a guy dressed as male genitalia. I know, doesn't sound like something easily forgotten, but I managed it. I want to say Ascian is the author, but I'm not totally sure.

2) Jubilee is injured somehow (not to be confused with "Blading" and its sequel "A Friend In Need"... although it took me a while to find those, as well) and ends up in the care of Juggernaut. Possibly he did the injuring accidentally, I dunno. Anyway, Jubilee finds out that he isn't such a horrible guy. Pretty sure it was unfinished the last time I saw it.


	2. A Friendly Mirage

Notes: Promised myself I would get at least one chapter of this out before releasing the next chapter of "Monsters Like Us" (which is basically done save for some minor edits). Don't expect regular updates just yet, though.

* * *

**The Liberation of Theresa Rourke**

**An X-Men Movie Fanfic by**

**Nate Grey (xman0123-at-aol-dot-com)**

**Chapter 1: A Friendly Mirage**

* * *

"No, Da! Dinnae leave me here, please! I want ta stay with ye!"

Since first opening his school, Professor Charles Francis Xavier had seen many difficult partings between young mutants and their parents unfold in his study. Too many of them, unfortunately, involved parents in every way abandoning their children and hoping to never see them again. Some involved parents who cared, but simply had no way of realistically caring for their children, whose powers were either difficult or outright destructive. And sometimes, like the scene in front of him now, the parents had pressing obligations elsewhere that would not allow them to raise their children. None of these scenes ever got any easier for Xavier to watch.

"I explained this to ye before, Terry," Sean Cassidy sighed as he drew his daughter into his arms and rested his chin on her fiery red hair. "If I do nothing, things will only get worse. This school is safer than most, and if you're here, I won't have ta worry."

Xavier frowned as young Theresa Rourke burst into tears, burying her face deeper in her father's chest. He could certainly understand the girl's frustration. From what Sean had told him, they had only been together for the last three months. Before then, Theresa had been raised by Sean's cousin Tom, who was both a known criminal and, from all indications, quite mad. Sean hadn't even known that he had a daughter, until he spotted her in a security video, reluctantly helping Tom and his partner rob a bank. Apparently, she looked so much like her mother that Sean had recognized her at once. Thankfully, whatever bad blood existed between Sean and Tom, they had both seen the wisdom in not exposing Theresa to it any further. Tom had told the authorities he'd forced Theresa to help him (and this was easy to believe, considering that Theresa had thought him to be her only relative at the time, and that Tom's partner, Cain Marko, was the size of a tractor trailer even when sitting). Sean being an Inspector with Interpol had certainly helped speed things along, and Xavier having a contact within S.H.I.E.L.D. had also helped immensely.

It took a few minutes, but Theresa's wails eventually faded, though tears continued to leak out of her eyes at regular intervals, and she kept one hand fisted into her father's trenchcoat. Looking at her, Xavier was reminded so much of little Rahne Sinclair, who had come to the school just over a year before. Though the terms had arguably been more stable, Rahne had howled for the better part of an hour upon learning that she would be separated from her adoptive mother, Dr. Moira MacTaggert, for any length of time. Rahne had only cheered up upon meeting Maria Callasantos, an older student with a similar mutation, and the two had been inseparable ever since. Xavier hoped that Theresa would also have a similar experience, though it was clear that what she truly needed and wanted was to be with her father. Unfortunately, that appeared to be the one thing that her father couldn't give her.

"Sorry about dropping this in your lap so suddenly, Professor," Sean apologized. "Terry and I, we've been on the run for a bit. As you know, Tom is safely behind bars now-"

"-but with my stepbrother still at large, one cannot be too cautious," Xavier finished for him with an understanding nod. "I knew Cain was involved in criminal activity, and I should have done more to prevent that. I can't help but think that if I had, you wouldn't be in your current situation."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that. From all indications, taking care o' Terry and having Marko as a friend were the only things that kept Tom stable for as long as he was. I have no doubt he'd still be a criminal without them, just a far more vicious one. I give a prayer o' thanks every day that he genuinely loved Terry and was good to her, at least up until he got her mixed up in his evil ways."

Xavier glanced at Theresa as Sean spoke, noting that while the mention of Tom clearly bothered her, she did not appear to be suffering from any significant trauma. In fact, he could tell with a glance that Theresa still loved Tom, albeit reluctantly, considering the current state of her life because of him. "That is good news. As a matter, of course, I would still suggest a few counseling sessions with one of our qualified teachers. Many students here have been through similar or worse circumstances, and we would not want anything to get in the way of Theresa's personal growth."

Theresa swallowed hard. "C-Can it be a woman teacher?" she asked nervously.

"Of course, dear girl," Xavier replied at once, giving her a warm smile. "There are several to choose from, so please don't worry about that. You only need to let me know once you find someone you're comfortable talking to."

She gave him a small, hesitant grin in return, which gave him hope that Theresa's recovery had already begun. Still, her father likely had more to do with that than anyone else, and once he was gone, Xavier strongly suspected that Theresa's progress would slow down, if not come to a screeching halt.

"I know you're in a hurry, Mr. Cassidy, so if you like, we can get Theresa situated right away." The words were barely out of his mouth when the door opened. "Ah, and here is one of our staff members now."

Sean and Theresa both did a double-take upon seeing the woman that walked in, but for entirely different reasons. Theresa's gaze was immediately drawn to the large, black patch of skin that surrounded the unusually pale woman's left eye, but Sean's widened eyes held the definite signs of recognition.

"I'd like you both to meet our security consultant, Domino," Xavier said as she came to stand just behind him. "I can't tell you how much her presence has improved things around here."

Sean looked as if he very much wanted to say something, but was forcing himself not to. Finally, he simply gave in to his initial impulse. "Professor, that woman is a mercenary!"

"I have no doubt that was true when you last encountered her," Xavier replied. "That is, of course, no longer the case. I am responsible for the lives of far too many children to be lax in who I hire. Rest assured that your daughter could not be in safer hands with Domino here. You're obviously well aware of what she's capable of."

Sean still didn't look too happy.

"You don't have to trust me with your kid, Inspector Cassidy," Domino said. "But you should trust that so long as Cain Marko is free, there are only going to be three things on his mind: breaking Black Tom out of prison, getting his hands on your daughter, and breaking you in half. I can only stop one of those from happening, but even that should allow you to focus on preventing the other two."

"Why would ye want to protect anyone other than yourself?" Sean asked.

"I could say I got tired of running, or that I was sick of being used as a weapon, but you wouldn't believe either one. I know more than a hundred ways to kill someone with my bare hands, but I couldn't pick out my real name from a multiple choice question. I'm here for the same reason that you are: I believe in second chances, and I needed one badly. As for why I'd protect your kid, let's face it: I know you'd do everything in your power to get me thrown in jail if anything happened to her here. That's reason enough."

"Ye wouldn't, would ye, Da?" Theresa asked at once, her eyes round with worry. "I like her."

Sean gaped at his daughter. "Ye do? Why?!"

"She... reminds me of home," Theresa murmured.

Thanks to his immense telepathic powers, Xavier was the only other person aware that Domino's appearance summoned memories of Theresa's first pet: a scruffy, white beagle with a brown patch around one eye. Xavier was shocked to learn that his stepbrother had been the one to get the dog for Theresa. Unfortunately, the dog had run away on the day that Theresa first discovered her mutant power, and Cain had searched for nearly a week before finally giving up. Theresa had been heartbroken, but Cain's efforts had won her trust. Though she had always called him "Mr. Cain" to his face, from then on she had privately thought of him as "Uncle Cain", a title Xavier was sure that Cain would have preferred.

Sean still did not seem comfortable with Domino, but he relaxed enough where Xavier could tell he would soon give in. "And ye really trust her with the kids, Professor?"

"With their lives and mine, Mr. Cassidy. The only real question is whether or not you trust me."

Sean looked at his daughter, who offered a hesitant smile. "It's up to ye, Terry. If ye'd rather look for another place..."

"I think I could like it here, Da," Theresa admitted.

"Then I guess there's nothing left to discuss," Sean sighed, looking resigned. "We'll be accepting your generous offer, Professor."

* * *

Harry's Diner was located in the middle of a bad neighborhood. Not in the way that the neighborhood had gradually gone bad around the diner, but in the way that one might traditionally expect to find meat in the middle of a hamburger. There was actually no one named Harry working in the diner anymore: it presently belonged to a large, surly woman named Francine. The popular theory was that she'd been married to Harry at one point, but had eventually shot him, chopped him up, and served him as the Beefy Burger. Even if true, this only would have attracted more customers. Harry's had a very specific sort of customer: no one ate there unless they had killed, at the very least, a small animal, and failing that, then an average-sized person.

Wade Wilson had been to Harry's enough times that if they ever bothered to offer a repeat customer discount, he would be the first to get it. As it was, he was the only customer that could flirt with Francine without her taking offense (and only then because she knew he was ugly enough under his mask that he never got anywhere with women, so she couldn't really blame him). She did tend to keep his usual corner booth open on certain days, and in return, Wade dealt with any rulebreakers for her free of charge. It was, sadly, the most long-lasting and stable relationship Wade had ever had with any woman in his life, and Francine would still probably break his arm if he ever tried to touch her anywhere other than her hands. Flattery only went so far with her.

On this particular day, Wade was sitting on the side of the booth that faced the kitchen. This also meant that his back was facing the window behind him, as well as the street, and normally he would never have left himself so exposed. It was simply too easy to kill someone from the rooftop across the street, with the right gun and the right bullets. Wade would know best, having done it many times and reimbursed Francine for many shattered windows through the years.

But Wade knew he didn't need to worry about anyone shooting him today. That was one of the few good things about the client he was waiting for. Nobody ever got in his way if they could help it.

Only a few minutes later, the entire diner seemed to bounce. Beneath his mask, Wade smirked, and closed his fingers around the bottle of bourbon that was threatening to jump off of his table. The curious tremors continued every few seconds, and soon an enormous shadow fell over the diner's front door, practically blocking out the moonlight. The reason for all of this was simple: Cain Marko had arrived.

A description: Cain Marko basically looked like every other bully from childhood. Literally. As in if you gathered them all up, melted them down in a vat of acid, blood, and steroids, the resulting person who emerged might possibly hope to be half of Cain's size one day, if they ever happened to hit ten growth spurts in rapid succession.

Wade was firmly of the opinion that clothes were not made to fit people like Cain. Really, there were no people like Cain. There were freaks like Cain, mutants like Cain, monsters like Cain, and even a Hulk like Cain, but no actual people. As a result, all of Cain's clothing was less clothing and more things that could also double for overly stretched tents and car covers. Today's outfit was a perfect example: it looked a great deal like a faded muscle shirt and sweatpants, blown up by about a million. And still the shirt did very little to cover the massive monstrosity that was Cain's chest. Wade could practically hear the poor Fruit of the Loom guys screaming their last as they and the shirt were being slowly but surely ripped to bits.

Cain didn't sit in the booth, so much as the booth gave in and accepted him as best it could. The end result was that Wade ended up with a good portion of the table pressed firmly into his ribs, and the foot that Cain had accidentally stepped on would probably get the feeling back in it within a few days.

"'Pool," Cain grunted, glaring at him. "You decided to show up. Pretty smart."

Wade gave him a friendly wave. "Hey, Juggster, you know me."

"Which is why I thought you'd bail on me. From what I've seen, you're not that smart."

"Maybe not. But when an old buddy of mine says he needs me, I'm there."

"Bull. I've always hated you, and the only reason you're here is because of the money I promised you."

Wade relaxed somewhat, feeling they were on more solid ground now. "True. I know I'm not exactly your favorite person, so I figure if you want to hire me, it's got to be something major. And that you'd probably just hurt me bunches if I said no."

"Need you to find someone," Cain muttered, leaning forward. "A kid." He slid a small, dirty photo across the table.

Wade picked up the photo and whistled at the young, attractive redhead that stared solemnly back at him. "Sweet statutory, she's a babe!"

The words were barely out of his mouth when a huge right hand shot across the table and wrapped, rather painfully, around Wade's head. "You want to try that again?" Cain growled.

"Uh, she's a classically beautiful and respectable young lady that I have absolutely no interest in beyond whatever you're paying me to do with her?"

The hand around his head relaxed, but only slightly. "Name's Theresa Rourke Cassidy. You're gonna find her and bring her to me, alive and unharmed."

"Kidnapping? Really?" Wade asked. "It's just that killing and robbery is more my style."

The reply was a very painful squeeze that left Wade seeing stars. "I'm paying you five million up front. Your style is whatever I say it is, 'Pool. And just remember: anything bad that happens to her, happens to you when I find you. Got it?"

"Consider it got, big guy."

"Good." Cain removed his hand and reached under the table, tossing an open duffel bag full of cash at Wade's chest. "You get the rest when you hand over the kid in one piece. Any questions?"

"Just one. You said her last name was Cassidy. She wouldn't happen to be related to a certain cop and your preferred partner in crime, would she?"

Cain scowled at him. "Just find the kid and bring her to me, 'Pool. Keep in mind that I can hurt you way worse than a measly scream."

Wade had kept that in mind. He had also kept in mind that normally, if Cain wanted something done, he would just threaten the person he wanted to do it. It always worked, frankly. If Cain was offering millions in cash instead of the usual threats, it meant that he really wanted this kid, and that he really wanted Wade to get it done without any feelings of resentment involved. Wade had no problem with that. There was no love lost between he and Sean Cassidy, and ideally, he could blackmail Cassidy into hiring him to kidnap (well, return) the kid right back and for practically double the money. There was the tiny hiccup of having Cain out for his blood again as a result, but he could deal with that later.

"So, any idea where I should start looking for this kid?" Wade asked, giving the photo another long (and this time subtly lecherous) look.

Cain nodded. "Yeah. I only know once place where they roll out the welcome mat for any scared mutie kid that wants to hide out."

* * *

There were many questions running through Theresa's mind as she followed Domino down the hallway of what was apparently the girls' dorm at Xavier's school, but she settled for asking what she felt was the most important at the time.

"Has my Da ever shot at ye?"

Domino glanced down at her with a amused smirk. "Yes." Noticing Theresa's alarmed, apologetic look, Domino chuckled. "Don't worry. He missed. They usually do."

"Oh." Theresa felt she should apologize, but suspected that would only make Domino laugh at her. "That doesn't bother ye?"

"No. I was a mercenary, he was a cop, we were both after the same person, and we couldn't share custody. It would have been completely unprofessional if he'd been anything resembling civil toward me. But it was rather decent of him not to try and shoot me today, so I can leave the past in the past. Anyway, it takes considerable effort and time to hold a grudge. I wouldn't waste one on someone who didn't actually shoot me."

"That's... nice," Theresa murmured uncertainly.

"It's something you'll understand once you're older. Or at least when you've been wronged enough times." Domino came to a stop in front of a door. "This will be your room for the time being. We can move you if there are any problems with your roommate, but I don't think it'll be an issue." In what Theresa considered to be a quite rude display, Domino knocked on the door once and then immediately opened it wide.

Thankfully, the black-haired, brown-skinned girl inside was completely dressed. She was seated on the bed nearest to the door, and staring blankly ahead at the window. It was only when Domino poked her in the shoulder that the girl blinked and turned to face them.

"Oh. Hi, Domino." The girl's gaze went to Theresa, and then back to Domino. "New roommate?"

"Got it in one, Dani. This is Theresa Rourke. Do me a favor and show her around, would you? I'll let your other teachers know."

"Sure, no problem." Dani stood up and extended her hand to Theresa as Domino left the room. "Hi, and welcome to Xavier's. I'm Danielle Moonstar, and all my friends call me Dani."

Theresa smiled and shook her hand eagerly. "Thanks. Ye can call me Terry, all my... uh, everyone close to me does." Not for the first time, Theresa was reminded that she didn't exactly have any friends at the moment.

Dani seemed to pick up on this at once. "Then you can consider me your new best friend and roommate, Terry. So, what do you want to do first? Unpack? Meet everyone? Take the tour?"

"Aren't I interrupting? Don't ye have classes to go to soon?"

"Nope. That's one great rule here at Xavier's. If you show a new kid around, you get to skip your classes for the day. Anyway, this is my free period, so I wasn't doing anything that can't wait."

Theresa hesitated. "Um, what were ye doing, exactly? It almost seemed like ye were in a trance."

Dani smiled. "Oh, not a trance. I was meditating. At least, that's the simplest word for it. I do that a lot, which is great for you, since it means you'll have plenty of quiet time in here when you want it. I'm only noisy when I'm talking, as I'm sure you can already tell."

"You're not that noisy," Theresa offered weakly, though she was actually feeling quite overwhelmed. Tom was a big talker, but that had been more of the ranting variety, which Theresa had learned to mostly tune out and filter down to the important parts. Dani seemed to be of the chatty friend variety, and while preferable, it would still take some getting used to.

"You're nice," Dani decided. "I like that. We should get along just fine. Oh, you can put your stuff on the other bed." She looked at Theresa's empty hands. "Only, you don't seem to have any stuff."

"We moved around a lot," Theresa murmured. "Didn't really have a chance to collect anything worth saving."

"Don't worry, we can get you some stuff later. You can go with me when I go into town for my lesson tomorrow."

"I thought your classes were here?"

"All but one. I have Psychic Conditioning with Miss Frost. She's my legal guardian, on account of my family all being dead. But she's filthy rich, so she spoils me. Which is nice, since Professor Xavier really doesn't. He's nice and all, but only up to a certain point." Dani blinked. "I probably shouldn't have told you all that. Sorry."

"But ye like it here?" Theresa asked, a bit desperately.

"Oh, sure. All my friends are here. Miss Frost wouldn't let me stay here if this place weren't up to snuff. I'll transfer out once she starts up her own school, but it's nice for now. Plus it's pretty neat, being around other mutants."

Theresa gave her a blank look. "That's a bit harsh, isn't it?"

Dani blinked. "Not really. It's what we all are, you included. At least, I assume that's why you're here."

"I'm not a mutant!" Theresa cried, looking greatly insulted.

"Okay then," Dani said slowly, "you're not. But you should realize that if you suddenly burst into flames or turn into a puddle of slime, no one's really going to look at you differently. We're all... gifted, in our own way."

"Do ye burst into flames or turn into a puddle of slime?"

"Me? No, of course not. I take pictures. Watch."

Suddenly, there were two additional, perfect copies of Dani standing next to her. Theresa could honestly not tell them apart from the original.

"That's... amazing," Theresa whispered.

"Not really. It's actually pretty boring around here," Dani admitted as the copies faded. "But it is what I do. And like I was saying, if you happen to be able to do something, too, no one's going to get mad or treat you different. But if you do anything that's going to make a mess, as your roommate, I would appreciate some advance notice. If we fail a room check because one of us is too messy, we both get detention. It's supposed to teach us teamwork, but it usually just ends up with someone exchanging roommates."

"Well, I don't do anything messy," Theresa said firmly, though her voice trembled a bit.

"Okay," Dani said simply, apparently willing to accept that for the moment. "You hungry? You look hungry. Let's go eat."

Theresa wondered if she should be offended, but decided Dani was simply trying to change the subject to something more comfortable. Anyway, she was hungry. "That sounds a like a great idea."

* * *

Marie was one of the few students allowed to eat lunch whenever she wanted. It wasn't really necessary, but there were times when she just didn't feel like risking being among a crowd. Overall, the kids at Xavier's were a little rowdy but mostly good, but Marie didn't think any of them was above a good food fight.

Not surprisingly, she wasn't the only one that decided to eat lunch a little early. The moment she walked into the cafeteria, she spotted Sam and Paige Guthrie at one of the tables. Sam appeared to be asleep with his head pillowed on his arms, and Paige had her face buried behind in a huge book as usual. There was a lunch tray between them, but it looked like they had only gotten it so no one could argue that the siblings weren't having lunch.

Smiling, Marie quickly piled a few items on her own tray and joined them. "Trying to stay ahead of the class, Paige?" she asked as she sat down across from the siblings.

"Hi, Rogue," Paige said from behind the book, not even bothering to look. "No, this is more like extra credit. I'm experimenting."

Marie shook her head. Paige was a little odd, in that she insisted on using people's "codenames" as opposed to their real names. Marie had given up on trying to talk her out of it when Paige had privately admitted that "Rogue" sounded "dangerous, and kinda sexy" to her. It was nice to be appreciated, she supposed, even if she felt that Paige was far too young and innocent to be talking like that. Of course, if Paige kept reading as much as she did, she wouldn't stay innocent much longer.

"Hey, I heard from Feral that Dani's got a new roommate," Paige said abruptly, finally emerging from her book.

Marie blinked. "Really? Hope it works out this time. What's she like?"

Paige shrugged. "Feral said she smelled nervous. But then, most people do their first day here, I guess." She paused and made a face. "Hey, you think I could turn into applesauce?"

Marie froze with an apple raised halfway to her mouth. "I think a better question might be, why would you want to?"

"Jubilee let me borrow this apple-scented body wash. So I started thinking, could I do that on my own? You know, make my skin smell like apple-scented body wash?"

Paige had a very unique mutant ability: she could literally shed her skin, revealing a new form underneath. The most simple application of this meant that she didn't actually need to shower: she could just shed her skin any time she felt dirty, and emerge as clean as if she had just showered. Of course, Paige was never one to do things the simple way. She had quickly discovered that she could also shed to recover more rapidly from minor wounds, and that her new form didn't necessarily have to be a normal human body. However, the more complicated the transformation, the more trouble she had applying it to her entire body and reverting to normal afterward. So far, she was more or less limited to changing the composition of her arms, but Marie had seen her shed them into stone and ice forms already. Paige had not decided on a codename for herself yet, but Sam jokingly referred to her as "Shuck" just to annoy her.

"I don't see why not," Marie finally admitted. "At least, making your skin smell different sounds easier than turning into ice, right? I mean, you already know how to shed to get clean."

"But I don't really have to imagine myself as clean to do that," Paige admitted. "It's more or less automatic. I just have to imagine myself as... well, me. It's like my default or home plate, you know? It's what I always return to."

"I think I get it. So imagining yourself as smelling like apple is hard?"

"It's the focusing that's hard. Because I wouldn't want to smell exactly like apple. I'd want to smell like apple-scented body wash. There's a big difference. You'd never actually want to taste anything that tasted like apple-scented body wash. And if you smelled exactly like apple, you'd attract bugs."

"Sounds too complicated for me," Marie murmured.

"Everyone says that," Paige sighed mournfully, going back to her book.

"Just keep working at it, Paige. I'm sure you'll come up with something."

"I think so, too. It's the waiting that bugs me. And of course, Sam's no help."

Both girls looked at Paige's older brother, who chose that moment to let out a loud snort in his sleep.

Marie giggled. "You have to admit he's kinda cute like that."

"I don't, either," Paige said stubbornly. "When you grow up hearing at least three other kids do that every single night, it's not cute at all."

"Well, obviously I've never shared a bedroom with him," Marie pointed out, blushing, "so I wouldn't know."

"It wouldn't have been so bad, except for his mouth. He's the only one of my brothers that doesn't toss and turn, so I never had to worry about getting squashed, at least."

Marie could understand that. Paige was a bit smaller than average, so being squashed by anyone was always a major concern for her. Sam, on the other hand, was fairly lanky already, and Marie imagined he would only get taller and skinnier as he got older. Despite this, she also knew that he was fairly muscular, having seen him with his shirt off a number of times. Apparently some boys from Kentucky did that sort of thing, unless teachers surrounded by blushing, giggling girls told them not to. In Sam's defense, he hadn't known there were five girls peeking into his room while he did his daily push-ups. Or that Jubilee had sold tickets at five dollars each. Or that Marie had bought one. Such trivial details weren't really important.

Marie was pulled from this rather pleasant recollection when she heard someone calling her name. Looking up, she spotted Dani walking into the cafeteria, dragging along a girl she didn't recognize. "Looks like we finally get to meet Dani's new roommate."

Paige peeked from behind her book. "She's pretty," she murmured, sounding particularly uninterested. "Not as pretty as you, though."

Marie was not sure what to say to that, and before she could come up with a response, Dani was invading her personal space, as usual.

* * *

"Everyone, this is my new roomie, Theresa Rourke," Dani said to everyone at the table. Her voice had taken on that "you'd-better-listen-to-me" tone that Theresa was quickly growing used to, and not surprisingly, the only person who didn't seem to be paying attention was asleep. Naturally, Dani wasn't about to have that. "Someone poke Sam so he doesn't miss anything else."

Both the small blond and the brunette immediately poked the sleeping boy hard, causing him to wake up with a loud grunt and a sound that Theresa was pretty sure came out as "Wuzzat?" The brunette giggled behind her gloved hand, while the blond just rolled her eyes.

"Sam, pay attention," Dani snapped, slapping the table for emphasis. "I'm talking."

Sam blinked, still not fully awake, but stared at Dani with a resigned expression. Clearly, he was used to this sort of treatment as well.

"As I was saying, this is my new roomie, Theresa Rourke. You can call her Terry. If I find out any of you weren't nice to her, I'll-"

"Dani, we're always nice," Sam interrupted with a frown. "We wouldn't be your pals if we weren't."

Dani seemed satisfied, clearly having taken it to mean that of course her friends would be nice. Theresa took it to mean that Sam and the two girls were only still friends with Dani because they were nice, but was wise enough not to mention this aloud.

"Nice to meet you, Terry," the brunette said, extending her gloved hand. "I'm Marie."

"My best friend," Dani said loudly, causing Marie to blush. "The one I told you about."

Theresa hoped it wasn't too obvious that Dani had mentioned Marie's mutant power earlier, though suspected it was by the slow, careful way that she shook Marie's hand. Marie didn't seem insulted, thankfully. Probably she was used to people not wanting to touch her at all, so she didn't much mind the ones that would.

The formerly sleeping Sam shook Theresa's hand next. "Sam Guthrie. It's a pleasure, Terry." He gestured to the girl next to him. "And this is my baby sister-"

"Sam, please," the girl interrupted, giving him a severe look.

"Right. Sorry. My younger sister, Paige."

"I'd shake your hand, but I don't want to get applesauce on you," Paige explained to Theresa, which drew several odd looks.

"Thank ye?" Theresa murmured, not sure how to reply.

"That's, well, almost everyone," Dani said, looking around. "You'll meet the rest later. Trust me, they'll find you."

Theresa wasn't sure how to respond to that, either. "This seems like a nice place to... learn."

"It is," Paige agreed at once. "So where are you from, Terry?"

"All over," Theresa replied quickly. "I mean, my family moved around a lot. I couldn't tell you where we started out."

"You should ask Doug," Marie noted. "He's good with accents."

"Who's Doug?" Theresa asked.

"A skinny kid who can tell where you learned to talk just by listening to you for five seconds," Paige answered. "He's never wrong. Bit annoying, really."

Marie shook her head. "You're just mad because you can't do it, Paige. And because he reads faster than you."

"So? Still annoying," Paige insisted.

Theresa relaxed a little as Paige and Marie settled comfortably into an argument over whether Doug was a know-it-all (it was pretty clear that he wasn't, but Paige seemed determined to be jealous of him, just as Marie seemed determined to play the peacemaker). Dani left to get Theresa a tray, while Sam told Theresa about some of the classes offered. There were the normal, expected ones like Chemistry and Algebra, of course. But Theresa still wasn't sure what Psychic Conditioning was, or why Dani had to take it off campus, since it turned out that everyone else at the table took the class (it was required, apparently) right there at Xavier's. When Theresa asked about it, nervous glances were exchanged all around, and Marie finally told her that the best way to learn about it was to experience it. She did mention that students were free to choose which teacher they took the class with: either Professor Xavier himself, or Dr. Jean Grey. Theresa's immediate preference was a woman, and Dr. Grey was reportedly very nice (not that Xavier hadn't been, but so far Theresa's most negative experiences had always involved males), so that made her feel a little better.

Also of great interest was the fact that no one at the table had actually met Miss Frost properly, save Marie, who still didn't know very much about her. The general consensus was that Miss Frost did not actually like children, but was fond of Dani alone for some unknown reason. Dani was known to talk at length about how Miss Frost had saved her from a life of poverty, and did not tolerate anyone speaking badly of her guardian. Which was odd, since everyone seemed to want to do just that.

* * *

Emma Frost was firmly of the opinion that life was not with a healthy sense of irony.

Example: currently, she was one of the foremost mutant telepaths on the planet, which meant her knowledge of how the mind worked was nearly unparalleled. But, as a young girl, her mutant power had manifested very early, which meant she was labeled as crazy because she heard voices in her head nonstop. The problem, of course, hadn't been that the voices were coming from inside her head. The problem had been that they were coming from outside, and she simply hadn't known how to shut them out at the time. She had eventually learned that out of necessity, but for a time she had actually been convinced that her grasp on sanity was not so firm, because no one around her had known the truth. Emma had sworn that she would never allow herself to be so vulnerable and dependent on others again.

And then, years later, she had come across poor Danielle Moonstar, living on the street and half-crazy, talking to imaginary people. The only real difference was that Dani's people hadn't been so imaginary: they were her dead family, and they actually were still with her, if only because her mutant ability to create mental projections, especially of her own nightmares, made them real enough. Everyone else had passed Dani off as just another unfortunate child, but Emma had seen Dani's potential, and beyond that, a chance to save Dani from the hell that Emma had been forced to pull herself out of. Dani could have done the same herself, eventually, and possibly would have, but such a thing was so much easier with help. Aside from that, Emma had long ago decided that she was never going to give birth to children, so Dani neatly solved the dilemma of Emma's finding an heiress, and the curiously frequent maternal instincts that kept insisting that having Dani around was rather nice, all things considered.

Dani had taken to Emma's lifestyle surprisingly well, for someone that had been raised in a family environment. She flourished when left on her own, and was easily pleased by Emma's praise, largely because Emma was not in the habit of giving out false praises. Dani even understood, without being told, the importance of mutant-human relations. Like Emma, she had come to believe that mutants needed to remain firmly in the driver's seat, and was willing to work toward that end. Emma had worried what Dani would think, when the idea of infiltrating Xavier's was first mentioned. But Dani had realized at once that Xavier's view was too soft-hearted to do any real good, and had begged Emma to allow her to participate.

After several meetings with Xavier, Dani was admitted as a student, with certain understandings in mind. First and foremost, Dani was Emma's ward and protege first, and a student second, which meant that Emma had final say over her schedule and what classes she took. Second, Dani was required to communicate with Emma on a daily basis, via whatever method was convenient. Third, Dani was allowed a level of privacy practically unheard of at Xavier's: she walked into the school with a number of pre-approved pieces of Frost Telecommunications technology (and Dani was, in fact, employed by Emma as an actuary, and even had her own expense account), some of which not only masked her mind entirely from telepathic probes in certain cases, but also limited and/or focused Dani's powers as needed. Of course, Xavier insisted that if Dani were caught using her powers to manipulate anyone, and that she had done so with malicious intent, she would be expelled immediately. This pleased Emma only because she knew any other telepathic student caught doing the same would get a far worse punishment. Maybe Xavier wasn't really afraid of her, but he respected her resources, and they both knew she could make his life extremely difficult.

It was entirely unrealistic to expect that Dani could do the work of a properly trained spy. Certainly Emma expected her to take note of anything of interest, but Dani actually was there to learn. Emma intended for her to have the best education possible, and it was an undeniable fact that Xavier's was among the top educational institutions period, and especially for mutants. Of course, she made sure to supplement Dani's schoolwork with plenty of her own teachings. And for her part, Dani did not feel guilty at all about feeding Emma information on people she considered her friends. One of Emma's long-term goals was to open her own school for mutants, so any and all of Dani's friends would be welcome when the time came. Emma already had files in progress on every student Dani had encountered, as well as a growing count of the ones she intended to recruit if the chance ever came. Xavier wouldn't like that, of course. But in the end he would have to admit that whatever he thought of her, Emma was one of the few other people qualified to train young mutants. That, and her financial contributions, however reluctantly he had accepted them, had certainly helped his school immensely. It was often hard to get funding for the school due to Xavier's very public pro-mutant stance. Emma had no such problems, because her only public stance was that she was good at making money, and people who did business with her made money as well. She was very opinionated, but she also knew when it was smarter to keep her opinions to herself.

* * *

As nice as Xavier's was turning out to be, Theresa couldn't help noticing certain... oddities during her first day.

There was Bobby Drake, who, while perfectly friendly, also seemed to make everyone in the vicinity break out in chills. Theresa had developed what she feared might be a permanent case of goosebumps, as just the thought of him made her shiver.

On the other end of the spectrum was Ms. Munroe, a teacher who kept a small greenhouse on campus. Theresa had liked her immediately because of the gift of a small, potted plant with a long name that seemed impossible to pronounce correctly. But there was a curious tingling sensation when their hands touched, as if Ms. Munroe was constantly giving off static electricity. Noticing Theresa's discomfort, Ms. Munroe had apologized at once, and though Theresa had said there was no need, she could not easily dismiss the obvious upset in the woman's eyes, as if greatly disappointed in herself.

Professor Xavier, who had at first seemed nice, now gave Theresa an intensely creepy feeling. She could not shake the idea that he was looking through her somehow, because he always seemed to know exactly what to say to relax her, which in turn only made her anxious all over again. Theresa had not really begun to think of boys in that way, or at least she hadn't really had the opportunity before. But she felt certain that if the Professor had ill intentions for her, either she or her father would have sensed that. As they had not, she could only assume that it was his being an authority figure that bothered her. Still, she had gotten him to promise that there would always be a female teacher present when they spoke. Amazingly, he hadn't minded this at all.

Dani had passed most of this off as first day jitters. According to her, on her own first day, she had given her entire World History class nightmares of the pop quiz the teacher had scheduled for the following day. Everyone failed the quiz, including the teacher, so it was agreed that particular incident would be chalked up to a widespread case of test anxiety, which was truer than anyone cared to admit. Dani was convinced that with a good night's sleep, things would seem better the following day. And Theresa did have to admit that sleeping in a comfortable bed, and not hiding out in some seedy hotel while on the run, was a very attractive thought.

* * *

At precisely ten minutes to midnight, Emma Frost's personal laptop (the one she kept in her bedroom, anyway) beeped, and she opened it to find Dani's face staring at her eagerly. "Good evening, Danielle. You're a little late calling in. I trust that means your day was especially productive?"

"Not exactly, Miss Frost," Dani replied. "Sorry about being late, but I've been busy. They finally let me have another roommate, so I was with her all day."

Emma frowned, having always seen Dani's eagerness to obtain a roommate as more of a hindrance than anything else. "Really. Anyone interesting?"

"Yes, very. Her name is Theresa Rourke." Dani paused to tap a portion of her red headband, which almost instantly sent the encrypted file she'd composed on Theresa to Emma's laptop. "She insists that she isn't a mutant, but I think she's just in denial."

"Oh?" Emma murmured as she opened the file and began to scan the contents. "And what makes you think that?"

"She seemed way too sensitive when I mentioned the m-word. Plus, the scanner keeps picking up this odd reading around her. It says she's emitting a low frequency... noise of some kind. Even when she's not talking. I'm pretty sure she isn't even aware of it."

Emma sighed. "Danielle, I thought you said she was interesting? So far she sounds no different from any other teenage girl."

"She is interesting!" Dani insisted. "You didn't let me finish. This noise she's producing is special. I think it interferes with other mutant powers."

Emma blinked slowly. "Interferes how?"

"I'm not really sure yet. Terry told me that she got shocked when she touched Storm's hand. That never happens! Plus, she thinks Professor Xavier is creepy. She actually said it felt like he was looking through her. And she doesn't like it when I stare at her."

"Most people don't, Danielle," Emma pointed out.

"But she only mentioned it when I was actually trying to read her mind. I've been staring at her all day, and it didn't bother her until then. Anyway, I couldn't read her mind, not really. All I got was a few images and a headache. That's actually why I'm calling so late. I got some aspirin from Dr. McCoy, and then I took a nap."

Emma stared at the screen in disbelief. "Danielle, you hate taking naps."

"I know. Which should give you some idea of how hard it was trying to read Terry's mind, and how bad the headache was. I'm telling you, Miss Frost, Terry's a mutant. Maybe a really powerful one, because she doesn't seem to be trying yet."

"Any word on her parents?"

"Very little. She was still a baby when her mother died, and she only met her father a couple of months ago. Some relative was taking care of her all this time, but she won't say much about it. I think her father is a police officer, because Marie said that Mr. Logan said he just had that look."

Emma had only met the man codenamed Wolverine once, but he had struck her as someone that had spent a lot of time running, so chances were he knew a cop when he saw one.

"Anyway, that's not the weird part," Dani went on. "Mr. Logan said this guy's last name was Cassidy, not Rourke. And Terry says her parents were definitely married when she was born, and never got divorced, so I can't figure out why she and her father have different names. You'd think whatever relative she was living with would have told her what her name was."

Emma already suspected that this relative had a reason not to do that, but didn't say so aloud. Really, she was focusing more on the father. There had only been one police officer by the name of Cassidy that had ever made any sort of impression on her, but the odds of this being the same man should have been pretty low. Except that the Cassidy she'd met had been a mutant, and now here she was looking at a girl that should have been some Cassidy's daughter and also a mutant. Both the Cassidy she'd met and Theresa apparently had sound-based powers. And if Theresa had been in some kind of trouble, the name change also made sense. Or maybe Cassidy had simply changed her name to protect her from his enemies. Whatever the case, the situation demanded some more research, the kind that Dani simply couldn't gather with her usual determination and a smart computer. Emma needed to pull some strings of her own.

"Good work, Danielle," she added absently, giving Dani a smile. "Keep me informed. I want to know all about our new friend."

"Sure thing, Miss Frost," Dani replied. She hesitated, then added in a rush, "Love you!" and quickly cut the connection.

Emma chuckled softly, closing the laptop and leaning back in her chair. Poor Dani, still so afraid of being rejected, even after all their time together. Emma could not decide if she herself was being too subtle, or if Dani's self-doubt was the problem. They would really have to address that in their next Thursday session.

"I love you, Danielle," Emma murmured, instantly satisfied with the way the words felt leaving her mouth. She could even imagine Dani's face lighting up at the simple admission. Why, then, had they managed to avoid it for so very long?

* * *

By the time Dani got back to her dorm room that evening, Theresa was already asleep in bed, no doubt exhausted from an afternoon full of meet and greets. A new school was a lot for anyone to take in, and on top of just realizing you were a mutant, Xavier's could be a bit much for most kids. Dani imagined it was even harder for someone in total denial about being a mutant.

Making as little noise as possible, Dani crept into the room, changed into her nightclothes, and got into her own bed. She, too, was fairly tired. Reading minds was still fairly new to her. For some reason, her power had always been focused around reading the portion of a person's mind that contained their fears. Reading any part of a mind beyond that was always difficult. Theresa's reading had been even worse, because the noise she constantly produced had required Dani to redouble her efforts in order to get anything from Theresa's mind. All Dani had gained was a collection of jumbled words and images from Theresa's surface thoughts, mostly what seemed like names. Both "Cassidy" and "Rourke" had been there, and so had "Tom" and "Cain," as well as something with the rather ominous name of "Deadpool." Dani was sure she never wanted to find out what that was.

Sleep came easily to Dani that night, but it didn't last long. Less than an hour after she'd gotten into bed, there was a soft whimper than grew progressively louder, quickly turning into a panicky-sounding whine. Dani sat up at once, only to find Theresa tossing and turning in her bed, obviously in the middle of a nightmare. While this was not entirely unexpected, Dani had hoped it wouldn't happen. She waited a few minutes to see if Theresa would calm down, but Theresa only seemed to be getting worse the longer it went on. At irregular intervals, Theresa would cry out softly. Dani distinctly heard her repeat, "No, Da! Don't leave me!" at least five times in two minutes.

Dani finally decided to take action. The smartest thing to do would be to alert a teacher. Mr. Logan kept pretty odd hours, so he was the most likely to be awake. He wasn't exactly a comforting presence, though. Dr McCoy also never seemed to sleep, but for those who weren't used to his furry, blue appearance, there was the same problem. The truth was that Theresa probably didn't feel especially close to any teacher yet, so going to get any of them might only make the problem worse. The same was true of most of the students Theresa had met, and Dani knew of only one mutant that had any experience in correcting someone's dreams.

"I should really ask Miss Frost for a bonus," Dani muttered as she walked over to Theresa's bed. She brushed her fingers against the right side of her red headband, which focused her mutant power to a higher degree than she'd ever managed alone. Dani reached out and gently laid her hand on Theresa's forehead. At once, a powerful image sprang into Dani's mind's eye. Theresa was running desperately after a man that was walking away from her. Dani could only make out a few details about him: he was tall, had bright orange hair, and was wearing a trenchcoat. No matter how fast Theresa ran, his long strides kept him well ahead of her, and it was obvious that he was eventually going to lose her.

"No, Da!" Theresa screamed, tears running down her face. "Don't leave me! Please!"

Hoping she was doing the right thing (and that Theresa's mind could handle the rest on its own), Dani focused her power on the man, and with great strain, forced him to turn around. She looked into the face of Sean Cassidy for the second time (he had been in Terry's thoughts the first time), and once again, he was smiling.

"Da!" Theresa wailed, launching herself into his waiting arms.

"My sweet Terry," he murmured into her hair. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

Dani wanted to know what he was sorry for, but suddenly the noise she'd been hearing in the background the whole time became an overwhelming and unbearable screech, and Dani pulled out of Theresa's mind quickly, collapsing face-down on the floor in a heap. For several moments, Dani didn't move, trying to catch her breath and not pass out from the monumental pounding in her head.

After what seemed like hours but was probably mere moments, a familiar, furry hand brushed her cheek. "Dani?" a soft, high-pitched voice asked in a worried whine. "You okay?"

"Rahne?" Dani gasped, tears of relief squeezing from her eyes. "Please tell me that Feral is with you."

"Always," added a rougher, deeper voice in a confident growl. "Time to get you back into bed, Lands-with-Face."

"Very funny," Dani sighed as two pairs of fur-covered, claw-tipped hands, one set dark brown and the other a decidedly tiger-ish tan, seized her and hauled her back into her own bed. "And thanks, you two."

"Why were you on the floor, Dani?" Rahne asked at once.

Dani looked at her adorable little feline face, covered in reddish-brown fur and highlighted by big, trusting eyes, and found she couldn't lie convincingly. "Terry was having a nightmare. I fixed it." All three glanced over at Theresa, who was now sleeping peacefully.

"Should you really be doing that?" Rahne asked slowly.

"Probably not, squirt. Especially if she crashes like that after," Feral answered. Her narrowed green eyes always seemed to know far more than she ever said, and she had never been the quiet type.

"Okay, I was bad, but for a good cause," Dani admitted. "Can we move on, please? I'm really tired."

"Serves you right," Feral said, but Dani could tell she didn't really mean it. It was always easy to tell when Feral was mad. People tended to want to run from that.

"It's lucky we're right next door," Rahne said. "I heard noises. Feral said I was imagining it, but we both heard a thump. That was you falling, I think."

Dani sighed. "Guys? Me. Tired."

"Oh, sorry. I hope you feel better tomorrow, Dani." Rahne carefully gave Dani a quick hug, then scampered out of the room.

Feral eyed Dani for a few seconds. "You should keep your power in your own head, squaw. I've told you that before."

Dani nodded. "And I've told you before that I'm never going in your head again. I'm also never going to look at squirrels the same way again, thanks to you. You don't have to keep telling me."

Feral gave Theresa a pointed look. "Yeah? Seems like I do."

"She was in pain, Feral. I couldn't let her suffer."

"And if this happens tomorrow night, too? And the night after that?"

"I'll tell someone," Dani sighed, rubbing her aching temples. "This is way too exhausting to do every night."

"Good. Next time don't let it take twice to learn the lesson."

Feral turned to leave, but Dani suddenly felt the need to ask something. "Your ears are better than Rahne's. You must have heard Terry the whole time."

"Possible," Feral said, noncommittal as ever.

"You could have checked on us earlier."

"Equally possible."

"But you didn't. Why?"

Feral gave her an impatient look. "We're your friends and neighbors, not your caretakers. If we can't trust you to look after yourself, then we'll find another friend. Just because your judgment is questionable from time to time, doesn't make it nonexistent."

Dani blinked slowly. "Oh. So you mean you trusted that I would handle it?"

"Yeah. And you did. Not the way I would have, but then I'm not a mind-witch. And even if I was, I don't like poking around in other people's messes. Got enough of my own, and I like to keep 'em private."

"Oh. Well, thanks. I guess."

"Whatever. Just keep your nose clean, squaw. I've got one little sister to look after, and I don't need another." Feral left quickly, her tail twitching irritably behind her.

It wasn't the worst chewing out that Dani had gotten from Feral, but they always stung, especially when Feral seemed disappointed in her. Still, Dani remained the only telepath that Feral was even remotely comfortable around, if only because Dani had already been in her head and remained too afraid to go back. Or maybe it was simply that Rahne liked Dani, and Feral at least made an effort to tolerate Rahne's friends. That was the strength of the bond the two girls shared.

Dani didn't really understand the idea of being that close to an unrelated person. She still had vague memories of falling asleep in Emma Frost's arms as a little girl, but that was something she'd eventually grown out of. Dani knew without question that Emma cared for her, because Emma Frost would never devote so much time, energy, and money into anything she didn't care about. But suddenly, that wasn't enough for Dani, and she had no idea how to approach the subject with Emma. And really, there was no point in stressing over it: the more frequently Dani worried about anything, the more likely Emma would pick it up in a stray thought and simply confront her about it. It meant that Dani rarely ever had to work up the courage to speak to Emma about anything, but also that a sense of true privacy was something that happened to other people. But as Emma was so fond of saying, other people weren't wealthy like she was.

* * *

Rahne Sinclair had always been a curious child. Everyone had always said she was too little to know some things, which she resented, since that only made the things more interesting to her. Rahne didn't feel the normal rules should apply to her, anyway. As a mutant, one aspect of her power was a heightened sense of smell. All this usually meant to Rahne was that she couldn't possibly ignore the things that other kids did, because not only did the things look or sound interesting, they also smelled super interesting.

People usually smelled like the things they liked.

Jubilee, for example, smelled consistently like bubble gum and whatever perfume she was trying that week. Feral was always encouraging Rahne to eat less candy, so a nice hug from Jubilee was the next best thing.

Miss Munroe smelled like cinnamon, and the plants she loved, and the outdoors. Not the tough, rugged outdoors, but the pleasant, calming outdoors.

Mr. Logan smelled like sweat and blood and the tough, rugged outdoors (which Feral preferred). Also sometimes like beer or cigars or motor oil. Supposedly he was trying to cut down, although Rahne wasn't sure how omitting motor oil from his hobbies was supposed to improve him. She thought he'd be sad if he couldn't play with other people's cars. He really seemed to love taking the bike that belonged to Mr. Summers out to town and back.

Professor Xavier smelled, predictably, like books and aftershave (although Feral kept insisting that his head was bald, not shaved).

Dr. McCoy smelled like antiseptic and Twinkies. He claimed that cookies would be too predictable for someone big, furry, and blue. Rahne agreed. Anyway, Twinkies were easier to split with smaller co-conspirators and left less mess.

Dani's new roommate smelled strongly of peppermint, which was Rahne's second favorite candy. Jubilee lived two doors down the hall. Dani's roommate was right next door, and they hadn't been properly introduced yet. Rahne figured a good morning hug was in order. She wanted to make a good first impression, after all.

* * *

Theresa woke up the next morning to find a small, furry person on top of her. Her resulting scream of terror badly startled Rahne, woke up Dani, and shattered all of the windows on their floor.

Dani, who felt well-rested but not exactly well, scowled at her. "I think I would've preferred you bursting into flames. I could sleep through that."

* * *

**Continued in Chapter 2: Mr. Wilson Goes to Westchester**

Deadpool stumbles upon the perfect chance to snatch his target. Only he makes the mistake of talking to her in the process. And suddenly nothing is as clear as it should be.

* * *

**Endnotes:**

Again, I encourage questions, especially if you're not familiar with certain characters. So far the only person I've made up, to my knowledge, is Francine from Harry's Diner. And I could probably twist it so that she was an established character, if I absolutely had to.


End file.
